Air conditioning and heating

[jclays]

Still new to me Mainship 350. Started running the air conditioning during our recent short heat wave to test them out. Ran/worked really well. My question is does the water pump cycle or is it supposed to run continuously? Mine ran for an hour then shut off. I was on the boat for only a half hour longer after that so I wasn't able to see if it would start running water again. I shut everything down since I had to leave.

 

[rslifkin]

It depends on the unit. Some will run the pump continuously, others will cycle it on and off as the compressor cycles on/off.

 

[jclays]

How long can it run with the water not running before I assume damage can occur? How can I tell if it is supposed to have continuous water?

 

[rslifkin]

How long can it run with the water not running before I assume damage can occur? How can I tell if it is supposed to have continuous water?

If it loses water flow and the compressor is running, it'll usually take no more than a couple of minutes for the high side pressure in the unit to get high enough to trip the compressor off.

 

[Chuck34]

You should be able to hear the compressor cycling on and off. If it is on, bump up the temp enough that it should turn off and check to see if the water turns off as well. After a couple of minutes, bump the temp back down enough to get the compressor to turn back on and check to see if the water starts pumping again.
On my 2 units, the compressor won't run even 1 minute without water pumping.

I think most water pumps will only run with the compressor on, but as mentioned, some run all the time. Just depends on how everything was set up.